Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Buy land in missouri or iowa

spltbrow

spltbrow

Member
Looking to by another farm and have been kicking around the idea of buying in north eastern missouri or should i buy in southern iowa.

The advantage to missouri is i can get another tag vs having to use my iowa tag on the farm i already own and the others i hunt.

Not sure what to do anybody have any input on missouri deer? looking just south of van buren county in iowa.
 
Well, are you going to live there? If you are going to live there, than I would say Iowa, but if not than with over the counter tags in MO., I would go that route. In my opinion, the top two rows of counties in MO., are very comparable in regards to deer potential as southern and central Iowa. Once you go too far south you lose the Ag. land along with the deer potential. Still not crazy about the rifle season during the rut, but more and more good bucks come out of MO. now with the antler restrictions.
 
MO gun season is crazy. Bowhunters in ia get maybe 30 good days of good Bowhunting- 5th of nov to dec 4. Mo gets what- 5-6 days?!? Rifle opener on maybe nov 10!!!!??!?!? That's insane right there. MO has suicidal regulations for a mature buck class. Now- where MO does well is areas that guys take it on themselves to create older buck classes. U get in good neighborhood and manage right- obviously it'll b good. Of course genetics and habitat r similar - u just have to find a situation or create one where u can over-ride the states stupid rifle season and bad management ideas. Whatever genius thought rifles on nov 10 was a good idea is a fool. And isnt it 2 bucks as well??? Create ur own whitetail Mecca in either place and u shoul have some good hunting. Just easier in ia and a lot more time for Bowhunting here when its good.
 
I live in iowa now and already own a farm in iowa and have 2 others to hunt so i am definately all about iowa. My thoughts are different state to hunt and then i can get the out of state missouri tags along with my iowa tags.

I'm not real crazy about that rifle season being during the rut either.

I got lucky with the last farm i bought because i hunted it the 2 years before i bought it so i new what the neighbors were like. little different buying a piece that i do not know the neighbors.
 
Sligh1 said:
MO gun season is crazy. Bowhunters in ia get maybe 30 good days of good Bowhunting- 5th of nov to dec 4. Mo gets what- 5-6 days?!? Rifle opener on maybe nov 10!!!!??!?!? That's insane right there. MO has suicidal regulations for a mature buck class. Now- where MO does well is areas that guys take it on themselves to create older buck classes. U get in good neighborhood and manage right- obviously it'll b good. Of course genetics and habitat r similar - u just have to find a situation or create one where u can over-ride the states stupid rifle season and bad management ideas. Whatever genius thought rifles on nov 10 was a good idea is a fool. And isnt it 2 bucks as well??? Create ur own whitetail Mecca in either place and u shoul have some good hunting. Just easier in ia and a lot more time for Bowhunting here when its good.
Click to expand...


Definately makes me think. Thanks for the input.
 
Sligh1 said:
MO gun season is crazy. Bowhunters in ia get maybe 30 good days of good Bowhunting- 5th of nov to dec 4. Mo gets what- 5-6 days?!? Rifle opener on maybe nov 10!!!!??!?!? That's insane right there. MO has suicidal regulations for a mature buck class. Now- where MO does well is areas that guys take it on themselves to create older buck classes. U get in good neighborhood and manage right- obviously it'll b good. Of course genetics and habitat r similar - u just have to find a situation or create one where u can over-ride the states stupid rifle season and bad management ideas. Whatever genius thought rifles on nov 10 was a good idea is a fool. And isnt it 2 bucks as well??? Create ur own whitetail Mecca in either place and u shoul have some good hunting. Just easier in ia and a lot more time for Bowhunting here when its good.
Click to expand...

Missouri can kill 1 buck with a firearm, 2 with archery, one before rifle season, the other after rifle season.

The rifle season has been brought up and pushed hard to be moved to Dec 1st several times, but the once a year gunners out number the QDM guys and they want to hunt the rut.
 
Good luck EVER getting that gun season moved. I have contemplated buying ground in Missouri too, because it's cheap. But Sligh is right, unless you get into the right neighborhood, and anymore, have someone who can watch it since you don't live there, I'd stay closer to home.
 
Full Draw said:
Good luck EVER getting that gun season moved. I have contemplated buying ground in Missouri too, because it's cheap. But Sligh is right, unless you get into the right neighborhood, and anymore, have someone who can watch it since you don't live there, I'd stay closer to home.
Click to expand...

The problem with Missouri is that 65% plus of the State is big timber on rocky soils and a high percentage of hunters think that gun hunting the peak rut is their only chance to harvest a mature buck. The MDC obviously has to manage on a macro scale, and statewide public pressures will ensure it will not change.

Upside - guaranteed tags, generally lower land prices than IA, strong pockets of QDM, etc
 
I faced the same question in 2005 but being from Minnesota the decision was easy....buy in MO. MO has been far better for mature bucks than my MN and WI hunting but it's not IA. If I lived in IA it would have been a no brainer. The antler restrictions in MO allow quite a few bucks to make it to 3 years old but they take a beating after that unless you are in a good neighborhood.

You can shoot up to 3 bucks in Iowa as a landowner correct? Filling 3 tags with mature deer every year sounds like a plenty big challenge even in Iowa .
 
I agree that northern MO is just like central IA and southern IA. If they would change there regs just think of the deer that would come out of MO (northern part). All I want to know is what you do for a living lol to be able to afford not just one farm, but multiple farms.......lol seriously, I just graduated college and am looking.
 
Being from Missouri I can tell you first hand that the firearms season there is similar to a crazy shoot-a-palooza holiday. And then the people celebrating the holiday are on crack, well maybe not that bad :)
Missouri could definitely be an option, but under the right circumstances (good neighborhood, knowing the property, how the property lies in relation to other farms, etc). Be sure and talk to people in the closest towns to the farms you look at if you can.
Another nice thing would be that if you move to another state other than Missouri you would still be eligible for tags (unless they change legislation).
Honestly I can't comment on Iowa because I've only lived here for about 3 months and have yet to experience my first Iowa deer tag. I know you guys have had some pinnacle class whitetail hunting for the past years.....I can't wait.
Good luck on your farm search.
 
Got land right on the border. Mine is Iowa. Neighbor sees monsters during gun due to the timing. Sligh is right. He whacks a big one every year the first day. But that is the way it goes. I wish mine was in MO so I could get the tags every year. haha.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom